The Informant! is a 2009 American biographical black comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh. Written by Scott Z. Burns, the film stars Matt Damon as the titular informant named Mark Whitacre, as well as Scott Bakula, Joel McHale and Melanie Lynskey. It depicts Whitacre's involvement as a whistleblower in the lysine price-fixing conspiracy of the mid-1990s, and his embezzlement of millions of dollars from his employer. The film is based on the 2000 nonfiction book The Informant, by journalist Kurt Eichenwald.